


The Path

by 221b_hound



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Poem for my mother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 12:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2467613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/221b_hound/pseuds/221b_hound
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On 9 October 2014, my mother passed away in her sleep. Her service was held today, 17 October.  I wrote this for her (and for me) to read with the eulogies. </p><p>My friends here on AO3 have offered kind support to me this year, during her illness and through some very difficult times for me. I wrote fanfic to soothe myself, and many were kind enough to say that the stories soothed them, too. </p><p>Thank you, everyone. I have found this to be a warm, kind and supportive community. Thank you for helping me through a tough time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Path

The days since the call  
Are a series of short, sharp shocks.  
I see a photo:  
     Our family pulling faces  
     You, young, in curlers on a boat  
     Triumphant owner of a sausage roll  
I read a message:  
     Those who knew you, or us  
     Taking the time for kindness.  
A memory steals in:  
     The story of the Bill Haley movie, and dancing home with grandma  
     That time the cat swallowed my pendant and you followed her all day to...  
           retrieve and clean it  
     The way you danced with us, cheeky, happy.  
And there it is again.  
The sudden knowledge,  
     New again  
I won’t see you any more.  
For a moment it feels like the ground beneath me   
                                                                      tilts.  
A paving stone on which I’ve always stood has crumbled.  
My gaze drops down to seek the gap  
\- -

But it’s all right.  
     It’s all right.  
The part of you that built my path is not gone.  
That stone – made of everything you were and what we were together  
     Good and bad  
Is still there.  
However rough it was at times,  
It has worn smooth with use,  
With the footsteps of our lives.  
You loved me; I loved you.  
     The rest is detail.  
The ground is firm beneath my feet  
You are still part of the path I walk;  
That holds me up and guides me.  
I won’t see you any more,  
But you’re still here.  
In my path,  
     In my feet,  
          In my head,  
               In my heart.


End file.
